Chapter 31 #2
“Talk about what?” I asked, as I fought the urge to push Parker behind me and protect him. I didn’t care if the death mage was a seasoned operative who’d worked for the Supernatural Council. I wouldn’t let him threaten my mate.
Parker slid his hand over my back in a soothing motion as he studied the other man. Then he looked at me. “I think we should. I think this could be important.”
Against my better judgment, we followed Teague away from the pool table—calling over to Carter as we left, promising we’d be right back—to the corridor that joined the pub to the inn.
The death mage motioned for us to sit on one of the large sofas in front of the fireplace in what was once the entrance hall to the inn.
He sat opposite us. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs, and clasped his hands.
“What do you know about death mages?”
“Nothing,” Parker said immediately.
Teague looked at me. I shrugged. “Not much.”
“So, the thing is that I can see the bonds between people, like I said.”
I nodded. “Okay.”
“But,” Teague continued, “I can also manipulate them.”
“Manipulate them?” And now I was back to wanting to yank Parker away from the mage and hide him away. “How?”
“I can make a chosen bond like a fated bond.”
I sucked in a sharp breath.
Parker eyed me with concern. “Levi? What’s going on? What is he talking about?”
Teague held my gaze and nodded. “It’s true.”
I swallowed hard, wishing I’d brought my ale with me from the pub. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
“Seriously, someone has to explain this to me,” Parker bit out.
“Right. Sorry.” Teague cleared his throat. “My magic allows me to perform a ritual where I can modify your expected life span to match Levi’s.”
“Wha… I… Huh?” Parker rubbed his forehead.
“Right now,” Teague stated, “you will live another…” He squinted at Parker, or more accurately, at the air around Parker. “Oh, I don’t know, say forty-five years or so.”
The hair on the back of my neck quivered. Icy strands of fear skated down my spine. “I don’t want to talk about that. I’ve already lived through one mate’s death…”
Parker grabbed my hand and rubbed circles over my wrist, but he was looking at Teague, waiting for him to continue.
“And minotaurs can live forever,” Teague finished.
“Shit. I never thought about that.” Parker went rigid. “And you can change how long I’ll live? How?”
Teague nodded. “The ritual is complicated, and everything comes at a cost.”
If this was real…
“I have money,” I blurted, grabbing at the unexpected and literal lifeline.
“Not that kind of cost, I’m afraid,” Teague said. “I don’t tell many people about my magic, but I’ve been watching your bond grow since I’ve arrived in Willow Lake and…” He glanced at his hands. He’d clenched th em so tightly his fingers were purple. “Please don’t tell anyone about what I can do.”
“Never,” Parker said. “You’re offering us something beautiful and amazing. We’d never betray you.”
Teague sucked in a breath and released it slowly as he nodded. “The highest price is usually paid by the couple, but the ritual would drain me too.”
“You’ve done this before?” I asked.
Teague winced. “Yes. I know what I’m doing.”
“I wasn’t questioning your ability. That’s not…” I let my words die. It was obvious the guy didn’t want to talk about his past. That was a sentiment I was all too familiar with.
“You should discuss it and get back to me,” Teague said. He peeled his hands apart and moved to stand.
Parker motioned for him to wait. “Why would you do this for us?”
Teague smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “As I said, I’ve watched your bond grow. It’s beautiful, and it’s within my power to give you a chance at a long life together.”
“What would the cost be? If it’ll endanger Parker in any way…”
“It’s different for each couple,” Teague said.
“And ultimately, it’s up to the Eternal Magic what she wants in compensation.
Sometimes the life expectancy of one supe is evened out with the other.
So, one person ultimately lives a shorter life, and the other a longer one.
Sometimes the supe will lose some of their magic.
In extreme cases, a shifter may lose their ability to shift.
And sometimes, she doesn’t take anything at all.
Or it could be something else entirely. ”
Parker paled as Teague listed the possible scenarios. He was shaking his head. “It’s too risky. I can’t be the reason you die early or lose your minotaur abilities or anything like that. We can’t do it.”
Based on the way the death mage studied me, I knew Teague understood that none of that would matter if I didn’t have Parker in my life. “I’ll let you talk it over,” he said.
As soon as Teague disappeared down the hallway leading to the pub, Parker spun toward me. “It’s not happening.”
“Parker…” I cupped his cheek in my hand, like he was fond of doing to me.
“Look at me. There. I didn’t want to talk to you about this before now, but I’ve lived a long life.
A lot of the people I knew in my youth were immortal like me.
And only a few of them still walk the earth.
And while I expect some may have chosen to end their lives prematurely, most were taken by accident or unexpected circumstances. ”
“What are you saying…?” He clutched at my hand. Parker covered his mouth. “Are you…?”
“We can’t know the future, but I’ve never expected to live indefinitely. What happened with Christos showed me that. So, if I decided to share my life expectancy with you, you wouldn’t be stealing anything from me. You would be the reason I lived longer than I’d anticipated.”
Parker wiped at his eyes, but at least he was smiling. “Why is that?”
“Because you’re worth fighting for. I would fight death itself to stay by your side.”
Parker launched himself at me. He kissed me hard, as if he could keep death away just by the power of his love for me. And maybe he could. When we finally broke apart, I stared into his eyes.
“I think we should do it,” I whispered. “I don’t want to live a minute without you.”
Parker pressed his forehead to mine. “I want to say no, because this might hurt you. But I can’t say no to you because I would never want to live without you either.”
“Let’s think about it for the night and we can get back to Teague tomorrow. It isn’t like there is a deadline.”
“If we’re doing this, we should do it soon. Get it over with. Otherwise, I’ll just be panicking about it.”
When we returned to the pub, Carter pointed at us with a frown on his face. “Your lips are swollen and red. For Magic’s sake, did you two just sneak off to make out while I’ve been waiting for you for the last forever and a day?”
“It wasn’t that long,” Parker said, grabbing his pool cue from the rack. “Let’s finish this game.”
While they played, I considered how much my life had changed in the last few days. It was all because of Parker. This ritual that Teague offered us was a blessing I could never have predicted. I didn’t need to wait to decide. I didn’t need to sleep on it. I wanted to do this.
And, if I was right, Parker did too.
If those hunters hadn’t come to Willow Lake, Parker and I might never have come together, and now I couldn’t imagine my life without him.
Which reminded me…
“Didn’t Van say there was a bet about Parker and me? ”
Carter glanced up from where he was lining up his shot. “You know there was.”
“So, what’s the new bet about?”
Paws, that strange but powerful cat creature, jumped into my lap. “About time someone asked that.”
“Why are you standing on me?” I scowled at him.
“I can’t write down the bets, asshole.” He waved his paw in front of my face. “No opposable thumbs.”
“So?”
“So, you’re going to do it for me.”
“Isn’t that usually Jeremy or Ash’s job?” I pointed to where the two friends were talking at a table on the far side of the room.
“Now you’re just being a jerk, waving your fingers in front of me.” He swatted at my hand. “Like I don’t know I don’t have the damn things. Asshole.”
Was he for real? I eyed the creature, who was glaring right back at me. I couldn’t risk getting cursed, not now. Not when I had Parker in my life. Could Paws do that? I didn’t know.
I sighed and dropped my shoulders. “Fine. What do you want me to do?”
“How is your penmanship?”
“Legible.”
“Works for me,” Paws said, and I swore he was grinning now. He climbed off my lap and onto the table. “Get paper and a pen from Jake. We have work to do.”
“What’s the bet?”
“Nelson finding the unicorn.”
“Didn’t I place a bet about that a month or so back? ”
“It’s time to update it.”
I studied the cat. “What do you know?”
Paws licked his paw and started grooming his face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
For the record, I didn’t believe him.